Shavers vs Cooney in August of 1980

I guess Cooney knew he was only going 2b exposed as a fraud because otherwise which highly paid world title challenger would have agreed 2 fight off d record 4 less than 50k$ ? he had 2 milk d hype 2d max as long as he still was a hot commodity despite earning better money in his on record fights because he knew that he wasn't going 2 win on record .
Very good 2 know it , never knew that d Sullivan days fighting lasted in2 d 1980s . Do u know when was d last time that such n event took place or if it lasts 2 this day ?

 

FrankenFrank,,,,,,,

Last one I saw,,,,,,,,,,,was in Brighton Beach,,,,,,,,the Russian section of Brooklyn,,,
back in 2010,,,,,,,,,,

About 2000+ people showed up for a 'Midnight Bout',,,,,,,,

Some 165 lb. Russian 'kid' (an 18 year-old Amateur Champion) beat-up a 225 lb. Brooklyn Night-Club Bouncer/Professional Journeyman Boxer.

Lots of Stolichnaya Vodka flowed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

so u still follow d sport , and thank u 4 all of d information , d nonutubed events like this and d unboxreced records .

 

I see where you're coming from and to some extent I agree.. But I don't think that picking Gerry Cooney to beat Earnie Shavers in 1980, is awarding him a terribly high rating in a fantasy fight. Shavers lost to two lesser men than Cooney within that same calendar year, while Cooney defeated two aged opponents who probably within a similar range of standing and ability. The styles factor of those two men doesn't particularly favor Shavers either.

 

Sad thing is, had Cooney fought and beaten Shavers in 1980, the people who are picking Earnie now would have given Gerry ****all credit for doing so..

 

I saw Gerry get blasted out by Johnny Davis in the 'amateurs' in 1975,,,,,,,,,,,when he was a 'gangling'
Light-Heavyweight.

Even in the amateurs,,,,,,,it was true,,,,,,,,,,,,,as soon as someone hit him back,,,,,,,,,,,he panicked.

He fell apart,,,,,,,,,,,,'like a cheap suit'.

That is why he was 'protected on the way up' and only fought 'pre-selected' opponents.

Even though Earnie Shavers was on the down-slope, and 'picking up speed',,,,,he was
still a dangerous foe for '3' Rounds. I still believe,,,,,,,,it was Gerry's management
that really didn't want that fight - and only used Earnie's name as a publicity tool.

A better bout - Gerry Cooney vs. Bernardo Mercado

 

Senor P,

That Cooney-Mercado fight would've been an excellent matchup.Shame Jones and Rappaport didn't jump on it.

 

i read that cooney never got some of the fights because don king wasnt his promotor. haha

 

What you explain about Cooney's chin is interesting.

Concerning Cooney's drinking and drugging, it knew it was a problem leading up to the Holmes fight. It's the reason his December 1981 Joe Bugner fight was scrapped, I read.

Cooney's claim that King's lock on the heavyweight division froze him out of big picture is baloney. In truth, Cooney's popularity was so extraordinary that Rappaport and Jones could have advanced him simply by matching him against any second rate heavyweight. Just winning those fights might have motivated the WBA or WBC -- or later the newly established IBF -- to make Cooney a world champion, in order to cash in on the revenue he could generate.

 

Kenmore,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Correct

Gerry Cooney was extremely popular,,,,,,,,,,,and was the right color,,,,,,,,,,,

Though a bout with Earnie Shavers was 'floated around'....Rappaport and Jones were in
'no way' going to risk 'millions of dollars' with the World Championship Title Bout
around the corner.

Gerry didn't need a victory over Earnie to solidify anything.

Even Randy 'Tex' Cobb's name was tossed around after he beat Bernardo Mercado
in November 1981,,,,,,,,,,,,as a possible February 1982 opponent, before the
Holmes-Cooney bout in June 1982.

 

Actually, Cooney's people were pushing for a 1981 WBA title fight with Mike Weaver, when Bob Arum stepped in and convinced the WBA to fight James Tillis, the #4 contender instead, which ultimately came into fruition. So this claim about Cooney's people steering him around high risk opponents and the need to get the sanctioning body's attention is crap. He was ready and willing.. And to think that he was dodging shavers when beating Norton, Young and Lyle, while Shavers was dropping to Cobb and Mercado at the very same time is ridiculous to say the least.

 

Cooney had so much momentum at this point. Cooney.

 

I had a guy tell me who was form NY and in the Boxing circles up there that Valle would occasionally let Cooney go to town on a sparring partner to help boost his confidence this was before the Holmes fight. Jones and Rappaport were paying sparring partners unreal money at the time because they were letting Cooney tee off on them in a savage manner.

It didn't help that Valle had Cooney punching a padded wall that was putting stress on his shoulder and hands. Some of the injuries he had were legitimate but others were fabricated to cover up for his personal problems.

Say what you want about Cooney but he could punch damn hard. I also agree if you watch the Holmes fight Larry hit Cooney several times flush on the Chin and he didn't even wobble Gerry but as soon as he hit him high on the head Cooney's legs would go to spaghetti and be all over the place. Holmes even commented on it in his interview after the fight saying Cooney could take a punch on the Chin just not on his temple but he had a hard time hitting him high on the head.